Ecological Features of Cultivated Stands of Aquilaria malaccensis Lam. (Thymelaeaceae)‎, a Vulnerable Tropical Tree Species in Assamese Homegardens

Abstract EN

Research was conducted in twenty-seven selected villages located in Jorhat and Golaghat districts of upper Assam, northeast India, for population estimation, quantitative ecological analysis, and evaluation of Aquilaria malaccensis (Thymelaeaceae).

Vegetation sampling was done by quadrat method and A.

malaccensis is the most dominant tree species in all twenty-seven different study sites of upper Assam contributing 10–54% of the total tree density with a mean of 34%±2.

Density of the species varied from 6,236 individuals ha−1 to 429 individuals ha−1 with a mean of 1,609 individuals ha-1±217, whereas frequency of occurrence is very high ranging from 93% to 100% with a mean of 98%±0.53 in different study sites.

Distribution of A.

malaccensis is found contagious in all twenty-six study sites on the basis of abundance to frequency ratio except in KBG, Golaghat, where its distribution is random with 0.04 abundance to frequency ratio.

The widespread cultivation of A.

malaccensis in upper Assam, northeast India, offers a potential ex situ reservoir for the future conservation and management of this threatened tree.